There should not be a problem with sharks. Triathlon committee take into account and have boats and rescue standing by to supervise swimmers. Just to be sure about safety, I'd check the waters wshere event is being held.
Permalink | Report

I'd ask the event directors about it!
Permalink | Report

Ok, I'll bite.. Bad joke.. As a former scuba instructor and former triathlete, I'd say the chances of a shark attack DURING the race would be ...... slim to none. I did try and research it, couldn't find any attacks during events. USTA had no records of any event with a shark attack. There were a couple of heart attacks, one of which I witnessed during a tri, but no shark or aquatic animal attacks at all.

I did have a fellow training buddy who was attacked in 1999 while training, but it was just him and one other person in the water and she was behind him quite a ways.. He was swimming at sunrise in an area known for feeding activity. He was lucky he only lost his arm, but he still swims faster than most able bodied people.

I was on the aquatics team for the first Ironman Florida (Panama City Beach) in 2000 and we had kayaks in the water 30 mins before the swimmers were even at the gate. The kayakers were instructed to look for sharks and stingrays. No one saw anything before the race.
When the swimmers hit the water, whatever was in the way of the swimmers wasn't for long. About 50 swimmers in a wave, can't remember the number of waves, but we stood on that beach for at least 2 hours that morning. 50 swimmers hitting the water at the same time is not a pleasant site if you're a marine critter..

Sharks are generally spooked by large groups of people thrashing around. One swimmer thrashing around is lunch, multiples are a threat.

My advice would be have train in the pool, then find a group to train with in open water or do a couple of open water swims with in a confined lake environment. If it is a 'beginners triathlon' everyone will be horrible the first time out. If she can't find a group to train with in open water, have her 'over train' in the pool that way she'll be extremely comfortable when she swims in dark water.

Make sure she has a towel to stand on in T1 and gets all the sand off her feet before she puts the bike shoes on.. Blisters don't feel good...
Permalink | Report